


Pain or Paradise

by Luka



Series: Iceman [8]
Category: Primeval
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-10
Updated: 2008-07-10
Packaged: 2017-10-11 23:51:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/118526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luka/pseuds/Luka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>  Stephen's birthday weekend throws up some surprises for both him and Ryan</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pain or Paradise

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

| 

  
[blade](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/blade), [claire](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/claire), [ditzy](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/ditzy), [fiction](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/fiction), [finn](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/finn), [iceman](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/iceman), [lester](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/lester), [lyle](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/lyle), [nick](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/nick), [ryan](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/ryan), [series](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/series), [slash](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/slash), [stephen](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/tag/stephen)  
  
  
---|---  
  
  
Title:  Pain or Paradise  
Author: Luka  
Characters: Stephen Hart, Tom Ryan, Nick Cutter, James Lester, Jon Lyle, Ditzy, Finn, Blade  
Rating: 18  
Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing and won't make a penny out of them. I'll put them back when I'm finished, honest!  
Spoilers: Nope.  
Pairing: Stephen/Ryan  
Summary:  Stephen's birthday weekend throws up some surprises for both him and Ryan  
A/N: Number eight in The Iceman series. Jon Lyle and the rest of the SF lads appear by kind permission of [](http://fredbassett.livejournal.com/profile)[**fredbassett**](http://fredbassett.livejournal.com/) (and thanks to her, as always, for the beta). There are links to the earlier stories under the cut:

  
[A Fire is Burning](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/2008.html#cutid1)   
[We Could Leave Right Now](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/4534.html#cutid1)   
[This Year Next Year](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/4748.html#cutid1)   
[All That Way for This](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/5207.html#cutid1)   
[Ways of Holding On](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/6901.html#cutid1)   
[Someone You Might Have Been](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/7648.html#cutid1)   
[Jump Through the Fire](http://lukadreaming.livejournal.com/9436.html#cutid1)

  
Stephen looked at the pile of presents in front of him and swallowed hard. There was an expensive new watch (he was always losing or breaking his el cheapo ones), a top-of-the-range iPod, a couple of new books, a handful of CDs and some Calvin Klein teeshirts. They must have cost Ryan an arm and a leg.

He reached out to touch a gorgeous hardback containing aerial colour photos of the earth that he'd admired in a bookshop some time ago. "Thank you, this is amazing! I wasn't expecting all of this. It must have cost you a fortune …"

Ryan shrugged and handed him an envelope. Stephen opened it, expecting a birthday card. It was, but there was more – Eurostar tickets to Paris and confirmation of a hotel booking for a long weekend.

And this time he had to look away. He'd never been to Paris, and had always dreamed in weak moments of a lover holding his hand as they wandered the historic streets.

He felt strong arms around his waist, pulling him back into an embrace. Gentle lips kissed the back of his neck. "Don't say it …"

"What?" Stephen tried to sound surprised, but knew he wasn't doing a good job.

"That I've spent too much on you and that you don't deserve it …"

Stephen turned round and kissed Ryan lingeringly. Then he cupped the strong jaw in his hands. "You've no idea how special you make me feel."

"You are special …" Ryan sounded so matter-of-fact, but his voice was gentle.

Stephen swallowed hard. "Thank you. But I worry about you spending all that money on me …"

"It's my money and I'll spend it how I want."

"I know, but …" How could he admit that no one else had bought presents for him for years. He wasn't even sure anyone else knew when his birthday was. In fact, he wondered how Ryan had found out. The solider was watching him unblinkingly and Stephen heard himself saying: "I'm sorry, I must sound really ungrateful. It's just …" Then his nerve failed.

Ryan hugged him and said quietly: "No one else buys you presents."

"Cutter buys me a bottle of Scotch every Christmas."

"You don't like Scotch."

"Yeah, well . . ."

"I assume your parents don't bother?"

"Nope. They send Christmas and birthday cards periodically. I think they bought me a present when I was 16, the year they emigrated, but I don't remember what it was. It was probably a WH Smith voucher." He couldn't tell Ryan that he'd systematically tried to blank every memory of them from his mind, and that he'd done such a good job that sometimes he couldn't even remember what they'd looked like.

And as they lay in bed that night, Ryan asleep with Stephen's head cradled against his chest, Stephen worried about how he could ever repay the soldier – not only for the material objects but also for the unstinting love. He wanted to be able to show how much he loved him in return, and he worried that the presents he'd be able to buy would be paltry. A research assistant's pay was shit, and even though he lived frugally, he never had much disposable cash around. He'd got used to it over the years, and most of the time never thought about what he could be earning elsewhere. But then he'd never had someone he wanted to buy presents for before.

Stephen snuggled closer to Ryan, feathering a kiss on the muscular chest. The one thing he could do to repay Ryan was to keep giving him sex whenever he wanted it. Sure it made him feel like a whore, but maybe that's what he was, given Ryan lavished presents on him and fucked Stephen's arse and mouth regularly.

Amidst all the fragmented, intense conversations they'd had about their relationship, there'd never been anything said about Stephen fucking Ryan. It didn't bother him most of the time, as he loved being fucked, but just occasionally he wondered what it would be like to be inside that muscular body. He wasn't going to rock the boat, though.

Stephen resolved to enjoy it while he could. One day his looks would go and he wouldn't even have those to attract anyone. And Ryan, no matter what he kept saying, would dump him once that happened. So he'd save all the gorgeous presents up and squirrel them away. If things got bad and he needed the money, he'd sell them on eBay. He'd always have the memories, though – no one could take those away from him.

***

Ryan knew immediately that he'd misjudged it badly with the presents. The shocked look on Stephen's face had said it all. And Ryan was angry with himself for not thinking it through. He'd been so keen to buy Stephen nice things that it hadn't occurred to him it might look like he was flashing money around.

Ryan had always been sensible with his money. The house was almost paid for, and the car was his. One thing you rapidly discovered in the armed forces was that spending your pay wasn't that easy when you were abroad for months on end. So he saved, but allowed himself treats, such as a new mountain bike. Always in the back of his mind was the knowledge that there was a strong chance he wouldn't live to draw his pension anyway, so he might as well enjoy the money while he could.

He hated shopping – and Hereford was hardly mecca of the retail universe anyway – but buying online and having it delivered c/o Sadie was easy. And he'd got into the habit of spotting things that he thought Stephen would like. The irony was, his criteria for buying his own clothes was whether they'd fit and be comfortable. With Stephen, he'd found himself wondering which designer labels would suit him best.

The Calvin Klein teeshirts looked sensational on him. They were due down the pub on Friday night for Ditzy's birthday, and Stephen had put a dark green one on. It looked fabulous, the soft fabric clinging to his body, with a hint of chest hair visible in the v-neck. Ryan had great difficulty not jumping him in the pub toilets.

"Wow, he's gorgeous!" Claire, Ditzy's girlfriend, handed Ryan a pint. "I've been wondering what Stephen looks like. I couldn't get a scrap of commonsense out of Ditzy, although that's par for the bloody course! All I get is him saying he's a great guy and shoots better than most of you. He somehow omitted to mention he looks like a film star …"

Ryan smiled and sipped his pint. He liked Claire a lot – she was sane, no-nonsense and didn't take any crap off Ditzy – but she was a brisk Yorkshirewoman with a tendency to call a spade an effing shovel. She didn't seem in the least fazed by the fact Ryan was her other half's commanding officer, and the chances of her grilling him about his private life were high to a dead cert.

"Have you had any trouble off people?"

"Not so far, although Stephen's boss has been a bit of a tosser about it."

"Stephen's a scientist?"

"Yep. A zoologist in a university."

"Brains as well as beauty! You reckon it'll screw up your promotion chances?"

Trust Claire to ask what no one else had dared to, but had undoubtedly wondered about. Ryan shrugged. "No idea." His immediate superior, Major Preston, knew and didn't give a damn. As to what those higher up the pecking order thought or knew, he didn't know and didn't much care.

Lyle wandered over, winked at Claire and said: "You got a minute, Ryan?"

"Sure." They moved over to a quiet corner.

"I'm off now. Tell the birthday boy I'll see him Monday." Lyle seemed hyper, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

Ditzy was by now standing on a table, an 'I'm the birthday boy' hat askew on his head, treating the whole pub to an uncannily accurate rendition of James Blunt's You're Beautiful, but with scabrous lyrics that the musician wouldn't recognise.

"If he recovers from his hangover by then."

"You know Ditz. He'll be up at 6am tomorrow scarfing down a cooked breakfast and complaining that no one's turned up to go for a run with him."

Ryan laughed. "You meeting Lester?"

"Yeah. We’re off caving in the Forest first thing in the morning."

"Have fun."

Lyle nodded, touched Ryan's shoulder briefly, then was gone.

"Is Jon sneaking off for a romantic tryst?" Stephen appeared, handing Ryan another pint.

"Yeah. And they're going caving tomorrow."

"You reckon he'll tell the others?"

"Dunno. Probably wait and see if it's going anywhere first."

"D'you reckon it will?"

Ryan shrugged. "Longest Jon's been with anyone in all the time I've known him is three months …"

"This one sounds serious. Apparently they've been meeting up every weekend and at least once in the week."

"Good luck to them. And if Lyle can make Lester halfway human, he'll have done us all a favour."

Stephen laughed. "You reckon Lester's on the bottom and gets a kick out of his bit of rough fucking him?"

"I could have lived without that image, thanks."

"Comes highly recommended, having a macho soldier with a big dick fucking the living daylights out of you …"

"Jesus, shut the fuck up, unless you want to end up face-down across the bar!"

"Promises, promises, soldier boy …"

~*~*~*

They were scarcely through the front door before Stephen unzipped both their jeans and went down on his knees, jerking himself off, with Ryan's cock deep down his throat. Then they somehow made it upstairs, shedding clothes as they went. Stephen knelt on the edge of the bed, face buried in the duvet. Ryan spat on his hand and rubbed it up and down his cock, too on edge to bother looking for lube. He rubbed the tip of his cock up and down Stephen's crack, letting it burrow the first couple of centimetres inside the tight, hot arse.

Stephen whimpered and wriggled. "Please, Tom … I need you inside me …" His voice was hoarse.

Ryan started to ease inside him, watching as the head of his prick disappeared, then met resistance. It didn't matter how many times they fucked – Stephen's arse was still as tight as the first time. He pushed again and the gorgeous arse seemed to spread around him.

"You're so fucking big …"

"You complaining?"

A muffled, breathless laugh. "Fuck, no …"

Ryan grabbed hold of Stephen's slim waist and began to thrust hard and deep, enjoying the moans and pleas from the helpless body beneath him. After about a dozen raking strokes he pulled out so just the tip of his cock was imprisoned between Stephen's buttocks.

"Tom, no … Put it back in! Oh Christ …!" The deep thrust back in seemed to drive all the air from Stephen's lungs and only Ryan's hands anchoring him stopped him sprawling forward. And then he was yelling the place down as Ryan pummelled hard into him. Ryan knew Stephen was coming from the way his body trembled and clenched around him. He was on the edge himself, but before he could come, Stephen pulled away, rolled over and swallowed Ryan's cock. Ryan cried out in shock and pumped streams of come down the willing throat.

They both sprawled on the bed, trying to get their breath back. Ryan knew Sadie was too polite to bang on the wall, but she'd have to have had the TV on at full blast not to have been treated to Stephen's virtuoso performance. He'd always been demonstrative in bed, but never that loud or vocal.

"Christ, you been watching porn movies, or something?"

"Nope." Stephen was face-down on the bed, his breathing harsh and fast. "Just felt like it. You liked it?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Ryan, pulling Stephen into his arms.

"Sorry, I won't do it again if it freaks you out …"

"It's OK …"

"You sure?"

"Yep."

Stephen wrapped himself round Ryan, hugging him tight. Ryan kissed the top of his head, drowsing pleasantly and enjoying the warm body next to his.

He opened his eyes suddenly. Stephen was on his side, tracing his forefinger up and down Ryan's dick.

"Jesus, you'll be lucky …"

"Oh, I dunno …"

To Ryan's surprise he was erect again. Stephen knelt over him, hand wrapped around Ryan's prick, guiding it inside him. He sank down, hands splayed across Ryan's pecs. "I love it when I'm so full of your cock that it feels like I couldn't fit another millimetre inside me," he said dreamily.

Ryan watched, dry-mouthed, as Stephen did the hard work, his strong thigh muscles bunching with the effort. And the position showed off to perfection his spiky hair, blue eyes, wide shoulders and slim waist. Christ, he was stunning. Ryan reached out to touch Stephen's cock, which was rock-hard and bouncing with the exertions, but Stephen pushed his hand away. "No … You watch."

And fuck, it was so hot, as Stephen jerked himself off, spraying all over Ryan's chest as the soldier dumped another load inside him.

"OK?" Stephen was propped on his side, his face flushed.

"Fucking amazing." And Ryan had just enough strength left to pull the duvet over them before he went spark out.

~*~*~*

Ryan was starting to feel like he was in the middle of his own personal porn movie. All it needed was a couple of blokes with dodgy taches and mullets, and he'd know there'd been a cock-up, so to speak, in the timelines.

He'd never thought it was possible to have too much sex, but bloody Norah, he was exhausted. A rigorous daily fitness routine didn't prepare you for a partner who suddenly couldn't sit still for a minute without unzipping his jeans or pushing his teeshirt up and playing with his nipples. And it needed someone with nerves of steel to resist Stephen's mouth and arse.

Saturday morning he'd been woken up by a warm mouth deep-throating his cock. And then they'd had a second round in the shower as Stephen leaned against the wall and proceeded to finger and soap his hole until Ryan couldn't stand the temptation any longer and had slid straight into him.

They'd done some painting for Sadie, who cooked them a huge lunch. She'd been far too polite to comment on the night's activities, but Ryan suspected he was blushing when she winked at him at one point when she caught him staring at Stephen.

The weather was gorgeous, so they sunbathed in the garden in the afternoon. Ryan hated gardening, but he'd created a little suntrap that couldn't be seen by Sadie. So Stephen took this as carte blanche to sunbathe naked. And fuck, it was a sight worth seeing as he was a gorgeous shade of honey-brown all over.

"Lucky bastard," said Ryan without rancour.

"How d'you mean?"

"That suntan."

Stephen shrugged. "I've always tanned easily."

"You need some more sun cream on, though. Roll over."

Stephen obeyed, pillowing his head on his arms. Ryan took his time rubbing the cream in, enjoying the feel of the smooth, flawless skin under his fingers. He couldn't resist tracing down and kneading the rounded buttocks. Stephen laughed and reached back to spread them.

"That's about the only place you haven't caught the sun," said Ryan, stroking his fingers down the white strip between Stephen's buttocks. He knelt over the prone body and stroked his own cock three or four times until it was erect. Then he squirted the sun cream into the tight crack, laughing as Stephen wriggled and muttered about how cold it was. Stephen tried to spread his legs, but Ryan pushed them together, feeling the delicious tightness hugging his cock as he burrowed in. Stephen thrust back, impaling himself totally on Ryan's prick. Ryan set up a deep, driving rhythm, kissing Stephen's shoulders at the same time. And as they both came he bit down, making his mark on the perfect skin.

"Have you just given me a bloody love bite?"

"Um, yes. Sorry." Ryan licked the mark at the junction of neck and right shoulder. "Your teeshirt'll cover it."

"Thank fuck for that! I could see me having to explain that one to bloody Cutter. 'No Nick, it's not an insect bite. Ryan gave it me when he was fucking me hard up the arse!""

Ryan laughed. "More like you'll have to explain to him why you're walking funny …"

"What d'you mean?"

"It's like you can't get enough cock all of a sudden." And as he said it, the warning bells went off in his head and he saw Stephen's face close up. "Oh shit, Stephen …"

"What?"

"What's this all about? Tell me."

"I thought you liked having sex with me." Stephen sat up and began to pull on his teeshirt and jeans.

"I love it. It's out of this fucking world. But it's suddenly like you have to be on call every second of the day in case I want sex." He took one look at Stephen's face and knew he'd hit the truth. "Fuck, Stephen, why? Please tell me."

Stephen hugged his knees and stared off down the garden. "I can't buy you expensive presents. My body's all I have to give you."

Despite the heat Ryan felt cold all over. And for one, terrible moment he thought he was going to break down. He took a deep breath and scooted over, sliding his arm round Stephen's waist and feeling the instinctive tension in the slim body. "Stephen, listen to me. I love buying you presents and I want you to have nice things. I don't care a damn about getting anything in return. Being with you is all I need."

"But I want to make you feel good, and I don't know how … So I looked online, you know, to get some ideas … I don't have much experience, and I must be really boring in bed …"

"You make me feel like a million dollars," said Ryan simply.

A single tear rolled down Stephen's cheek. Ryan leaned over and kissed it away. "Hey, come on … We knew it wouldn't be easy. But we can do it, OK?"

Stephen kissed his fingers and pressed them to Ryan's lips. "OK. And I'm sorry. You must think I'm …"

"I don't think anything. Let's go for a run, then when we come back I'll cook us some tea. Does that sound good?"

"Great. Thank you."

Stephen's icy control was back, but Ryan suspected that one day it would all come tumbling down. He just hoped he'd be there to pick up the pieces.

~*~*~*

Stephen stared in disbelief at the candle-lit dining table. It looked like something from a smart restaurant, with a proper linen tablecloth and napkins, and heavy silver cutlery. He'd only been gone about 45 minutes trying to sort out what was wrong with Sadie's computer while Ryan was preparing the evening meal.

They'd got back from their run, had a shower and then Sadie had phoned to ask if one of them could have a quick look at her computer, which wasn't booting up. Stephen had ended up reloading all the software, which seemed to do the trick. He'd assumed that when he got back round to Ryan's that they'd be having something quick and simple.

"Tom … Oh Christ. It's beautiful."

Ryan kissed him on the lips and gestured to the table. "If sir would like to take his seat, dinner is served."

Slices of avocado with a vinaigrette dressing appeared in front of him. Stephen adored avocado, and ate it with pleasure. The dressing was tangy and tasted of basil.

"D'you want to pour the wine while I sort out the main course?"

Stephen nodded and reached for the bottle of red wine. He didn't know much about wine, but even he could see this one was special. He removed the cork and poured them both a glass.

Ryan set a plate down in front of him and Stephen smiled, as it was his favourite – steak, baked potatoes, peas, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and onion rings.

"This looks fabulous. Thank you." And he kissed Ryan's knuckles.

The soldier smiled and kissed the top of his head. "Happy birthday."

"This has been the best birthday I've ever had." And he meant it, despite the afternoon's embarrassment. Ryan had a way of making Stephen almost forget all the stupid, gauche things he did.

Ryan raised his glass. "Good. And to many more which we can share."

The lump in Stephen's throat threatened to choke him. But he managed to nod and touch his glass to Ryan's. He was beginning to realise that the soldier had a romantic streak buried beneath that practical exterior.

The food and wine were delicious, but Stephen knew he'd have been happy eating baked beans, just so long as Ryan was there. And just when he thought it couldn't get any better, Ryan brought out a dish of strawberries, dipped in plain chocolate, for dessert. And Stephen wanted to cry with happiness when Ryan fed him the strawberries, kissing him on the lips after each one.

Ryan made coffee, laced with a liberal dash of brandy, and they drank it cuddled up on the sofa. And there were plain chocolate truffles as well, Stephen's guilty pleasure.

Stephen licked the last traces of chocolate from Ryan's lips. "Thank you. That was the most perfect meal I've ever had."

"Good."

"I had no idea you were going to go to all that trouble …"

"Ah, well, it's why I packed you off round to Sadie's, although her computer genuinely did need some TLC. I owe her anyway, as she lent me the tablecloth, napkins and cutlery."

"It was like a posh restaurant. Not that I've ever been to one, mind."

"Maybe we should do that for your 30th."

"Tom, how did you find out when my birthday is? No one knows."

Ryan grinned. "Having security clearance helps a lot …"

"Crafty sod! When's your birthday?"

"October 30."

Stephen nodded. That gave him some time to start saving. He'd seen a leather jacket that would look sensational on Ryan. And maybe he could book a weekend in Edinburgh. He had some books and CDs that he could sell on eBay to make some money towards it. For the first time he cursed the anomaly project. If it wasn't for the unpredictability factor, he'd have taken a job in a bar a few nights a week for the extra money.

Ryan was watching him, frowning slightly, and Stephen smiled at him. "Hey, shall we get the washing-up done and go to bed?"

"The world won't end if we leave the dishes until tomorrow morning."

"Blimey, I'll have that in writing!"

Ryan gave him the finger, pointedly closed the kitchen door, then turned the lights off.

Stephen hung back and let Ryan use the bathroom first. He was worried about making the first move following his stupidity earlier. What he really wanted was to curl up in Ryan's arms, but if the soldier wanted sex he couldn't refuse. He cleaned his teeth and went through to the bedroom. Ryan was stretched out on the bed flicking through a magazine and Stephen stood in the doorway, unable take his eyes off the muscular body.

Ryan looked up and smiled at him. "OK?"

Stephen nodded and sat cross-legged beside him, waiting for Ryan to make the first move. The soldier was looking at him unblinkingly, as if he could see into Stephen's confused and fucked-up mind.

Strong, square fingers stroked through Stephen's hair. "Tell me what you want …"

"I don't mind … Whatever you want …"

"Tell me. Please."

"I … Will you hold me?"

Ryan nodded. And his voice was gentle, as he held out his arms. "Of course I will. Always."

~*~*~*

About the last person Ryan expected to see in his local on a Monday night was James Lester. He didn't recognise the civil servant for a moment, as he looked much younger and more approachable in jeans and teeshirt.

"Can I buy you a drink, Captain Ryan?"

"Pint of best please, sir."

"I think we can dispense with the formalities off-duty. Call me James."

"Call me Ryan, in that case."

Lester nodded and passed him a pint.

"Thanks. So how did your caving go?"

Lester grinned, and it made him look ten years younger. "I gave the cocky devil a run for his money. I think he thought I was going to wimp out at the first sight of a challenge."

"Good. Keep the bugger in order …"

Lester laughed, and gestured towards a table in the corner.

"Are you waiting for Jon?" asked Ryan.

"Yes, but I understand he's been delayed."

"You know the other lads will be along any time now?"

Lester nodded. "You and Stephen have done us a favour, although I suspect I shan't do much for Jon's street cred."

"He'll cope," said Ryan briskly.

"Oh, I'm sure he will. But I think it's taking him a little time to get his head round what's happening in his life."

"You have to remember that when Jon and I joined the forces, you'd be slung out for being queer."

"Same with certain sectors of the civil service …"

"True."

There was a silence as they sipped their pints. The pub door flew open and Blade, Finn and Ditzy straggled in.

"Hey boss, you want a refill? Evening sir. Another pint for you?"

"No thank you, Ditzy. I'm fine for the moment."

"You joining us for the pub quiz tonight, sir?" Blade sat down at the table as Ditzy went to sort out the drinks.

"I seem to have been roped in by Lieutenant Lyle, Blade."

Ryan subdued a smile. He'd have laid odds on Lester not remembering the lads' names. The pub quiz was a SF tradition. They'd been banned a couple of times after Finn got into a spat with a couple of local lads over some comments made, and after Ditzy had cast actionable aspersions on the quizmaster's integrity. But the ban was always conveniently forgotten by both sides after a fortnight.

"Well, no one else is going to be much cop on ballet, theatre and opera." Lyle pulled out a chair and shunted in between Lester and Ryan.

"I'm glad I have my uses."

"Yeah, one or two." Lyle's grin was suggestive, and Ryan could see Ditzy putting two and two together and making four. Finn, brow furrowed, was still counting.

"Is Kermit coming down?" asked Ryan.

"Nope. The sprog's bad again." Ditzy set a fresh pint down in front of Ryan.

"Ta. Serious?"

"Chicken pox."

"Ouch! She can keep that to herself."

"Exactly. Right, looks like they're about to start. Sir, you've got the arts stuff. Jon, you and Blade can take care of sport. Boss, you’ve got geography. I'll do science, and we'll have to hope for the best on history. And Finn, if you attempt to answer any questions apart from pop music and soap operas, I shall kneecap you personally."

~*~*~*

The campus clock struck 5pm. Stephen saved the file he was working on and shut down the computer. It had taken him a while to stop feeling like a clock-watcher. But now he had a life outside of work he didn't have to spend every hour of the day in that cluttered office.

"Got plans for tonight?" Nick looked up from a pile of student reports.

"A run, a shower and an early night," said Stephen shortly. He knew he should make an effort and make conversation more with Nick, but he really couldn't be bothered. And he was sick of Cutter staring at him like a kicked dog. He needed to get a life. "This is the report you need for the morning."

"Thanks for doing it."

"It's my job." Stephen handed the document over. As he did so he could see Nick staring at his new watch.

"Nice watch."

"Thanks."

"New?"

"Yep."

"Present?"

Stephen was about to snap that it was none of his business. Instead he sighed inwardly and said: "Yes. Birthday present."

Nick's brow furrowed. "When was your birthday?"

"Last Wednesday."

"Oh. Belated happy returns."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

~*~*~*

The doorbell went just as Stephen got out of the shower. He'd run six miles at a good pace and felt fabulous. He was looking forward to a quiet night listening to the new albums Tom had bought him and catching up on some reading. If it was someone trying to sell him religion on the doorstep, they'd get a mouthful.

It was Nick, a bottle of wine in one hand and a bag smelling strongly of Indian food in the other. "Thought you could do with this after your run. And it's a belated birthday treat."

Stephen counted backwards from ten and manfully resisted the temptation to tell him to sod off. "Thanks, Nick. You serve it up while I'm getting dressed." He'd just got a towel wrapped round his waist, and he didn't feel comfortable with the way Nick was staring at that love bite on his shoulder.

When he emerged ten minutes later, wearing his favourite old jeans with rips across the knee and thighs, and one of the teeshirts Ryan had given him, Nick had spread the food out on the coffee table and poured them a glass of wine each. He handed Stephen a plate of food.

"I've given you a bit of everything. There's plenty here."

"Blimey, this'd feed half the university!"

Nick laughed and raised his glass. "Cheers and belated happy returns. What was it? 27? 28?'

"29."

"You're making me feel old now! It seems hardly any time at all since you were a student. And whatever you're on should be available on the NHS!"

Stephen smiled, sipped his wine, and decided not to say that eating sensibly, getting exercise, and shagging a gorgeous man kept you in good shape. And while the NHS might advocate the first two, he didn't somehow think they'd go for the latter.

"So did Ryan get you the watch?"

"Yep."

"Did you do anything special for your birthday?"

"Not really, it was mid-week. Tom cooked a meal on Saturday night. Then we're going to Paris for a long weekend in a few weeks."

"Sounds great."

There was a silence as they ate the food. It was very good, and Stephen realised he was relaxing a bit. It felt just like the old days again, when he and Nick would spend weekends working, then slob out in the evening with an Indian or a pizza and watch a film or some football. In some ways he was sorry that time had gone, but he knew his life had moved on. He wasn't sure Nick's had, though.

"I think there's some European football on if you fancy watching a match." Nick topped up their glasses.

"Yeah, go on …" Stephen couldn't help but smile as Nick slid into that familiar routine of slagging off the ref and taking the piss out of one or two of the players. And soon he was joining in as well.

They opened a second bottle of wine, and once the match had finished changed over to one of the film channels. But they weren't really paying it much attention, chatting about work.

Nick said suddenly: "Are you two going to get hitched?"

"Dunno. If we do, I promise you can be my matron-of-honour."

Nick laughed so much he spilled most of his glass of wine down him. And the sight of Nick helpless cracked Stephen up, and he was laughing as well.

"Lester can be chief bridesmaid."

"And Connor the page boy, just so long as he leaves his hat at home … And when I throw the bouquet, I'm going to make damn sure you catch it."

"Why me?" Nick was easily bamboozled when he got tipsy.

"So you and Claudia can stop pussyfooting around and be an item."

"Oh." Nick always looked rather endearing when he was thinking deeply. "You think …?"

"Yes. Get on with it."

"Oh." He was nodding now, as if coming to a decision and drained his glass of wine in one mouthful, belching delicately afterwards. "I'd better go. It's been a good evening."

"Yeah. Thanks for bringing all the food and drink round."

"Pleasure. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget the department meeting's now 10am and not 10.30am."

"Ugh! You know how to put a dampener on a fun evening!"

Nick laughed, and they hugged awkwardly. "See you in the morning."

"Yeah. Take care, Nick."

Stephen drank a pint of water and refilled the glass to take to bed with him. He checked his phone, which was on the bedside table, and found a message from Ryan: 'Lyle now out. Lester pub quiz ace! Luv u.' Stephen was highly intrigued, but decided 12.30 was too late to phone, so contented himself with sending 'tell me all 2moro. Luv u 2.'

He took his new watch off, instinctively stroking it as he set it down beside his phone. Then he curled up under the duvet, still wearing the teeshirt, and clutching the other teeshirts to him, his face buried in the soft fabric. The new books were arrayed on the bed next to him and on his iPod Clare Teal's gorgeous, soulful voice lulled him to sleep.


End file.
